Heathrow boss John Holland-Kaye calls London airport ‘a critical national asset’ as profits and revenues rise October 26, 2017 Heathrow’s boss said today it had become “a critical national asset” as London’s biggest airport posted rising revenues and profits for the nine months ended 30 September. The results come in the same week the government reopened a consultation into Heathrow expansion for the public to view fresh evidence. Read more: London airports will be [...]
Mayor-backed London venture capital fund has helped create 700 jobs across the capital October 26, 2017 Five years on from when MMC Ventures established its London-focused fund, the venture capital firm has revealed it has pumped more than £100m into businesses and helped create over 700 jobs. The MMC London Fund has invested money into 19 London startups, including short-term retail let marketplace Appear Here, home ingredient delivery service Gousto, and [...]
New York taps Transport for London’s contactless expertise for public transport revamp October 26, 2017 New York is set to roll out a contactless fares system across its public transport network, derived from the one developed by Transport for London (TfL). TfL is setting up a new consulting arm to provide its expertise to operators around the world, and in the newest instance of the transport body looking to share [...]
New forecasts show need for Heathrow expansion ‘greater than originally thought’ with London’s main airports to be full in a decade October 24, 2017 The government said today the need to expand Heathrow is “greater than originally thought” and its timeline remains on track, despite the launch of a new consultation. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said updated aviation demand forecasts reveal that the need for more runway capacity is “even greater than originally thought”. He said: They show that [...]
DEBATE: Is London’s new ‘T-charge’ on high-polluting vehicles a good idea? October 24, 2017 Is London’s new ‘T-charge’ on high-polluting vehicles a good idea? Jin Ng, head of data and trends at easyCar.com, says YES. While the congestion charge has been effective in reducing the number of private vehicles in central London, the T-charge is one of the first of hopefully many measures necessary to help bring emissions down [...]
London’s no longer the UK’s top smart city as Bristol overtakes October 23, 2017 Bristol has overtaken London as the UK’s leading smart city a new index reveals. The south west city leapfrogged the capital when it comes to how it approaches digital innovation and its vision for a connected city. Under the so-called smart cities label comes tech such as driverless cars, 5G connectivity and "big data" – [...]
Scientists have worked out the impact of long commutes on life satisfaction October 23, 2017 Adding an extra 20 minutes to your commute is the equivalent of taking a 19 per cent pay cut when it comes to life satisfaction, according to researchers. A new study looking at the impact of commuting on happiness and well-being found that overall, satisfaction in people’s jobs and leisure time were reduced for each [...]
London’s £10 T-Charge starts today: Everything to know about the world’s toughest emission standard including which cars are affected and how many October 23, 2017 A heavy charge on older, more polluting vehicles entering central London comes into effect today. The T-Charge, also known as the emissions surcharge, means vehicles in the area will need to meet minimum exhaust emission standards or drivers will have to pay a daily £10 charge on top of the congestion charge. Read more: Electric [...]
Editor’s Notes: Work on a trade deal has begun, even if the EU hasn’t noticed, Labour turns against the City of London Corporation and Art 4 Grenfell October 20, 2017 Another week, another round of the Brexit dance in Brussels. The Europeans are inching towards the next phase of talks, though with “sufficient progress” not yet being confirmed they’re talking about commencing internal discussions about preparing for the next round. While this slow pace is infuriating, it’s always worth looking behind the public statements to [...]
Google parent Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs building its own smart city in Toronto. But why not London next? October 18, 2017 Google’s parent company Alphabet is building its own city, where it will tackle some of the most pressing issues facing London: urban growth, energy use, housing costs, and transportation. But it’s the Canadian city of Toronto where 800 acres of waterfront space will be built “from the internet up” by the tech giant, not the [...]